Anonymous threatens Sam Pepper over 'best friend murder prank'

Hacktivist collective Anonymous has threatened YouTube 'prankster' Sam Pepper over his latest provocative video, which is entitled "Killing best friend prank".

Apparently unmoved by previous accusations of tastelessness, the 26-year-old former Big Brother contestant released footage of a young man being fooled into thinking his best friend had been murdered in front of him.

Two friends, Sam Golbach and Colby Brock, are kidnapped and taken to a rooftop where a man in a mask ties Golbach to a chair and makes him watch as he appears to shoot his friend Brock, who is in on the prank. Golbach is left visibly distressed and screaming.

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Golbach later made a statement to say he was "honestly not mad" and added: "If anything this made Colby and I's [sic] friendship much stronger because it showed me how much we actually care for one another."

More than two million people have watched the clip, but the reaction has been overwhelmingly negative. Tweeters described the video as "revolting", "vile" and "disgusting".

A petition to deactivate Pepper's YouTube channel has since been signed by more than 92,000 people.

Kaylee-Jade Davis, who set up the campaign, says the video suggests Pepper "clearly doesn't understand boundaries or have any respect for those people who have lost their lives and believes that murder can be staged as a prank".

She added: "It is disgusting, especially as it appears to mirror situations where people really have got killed."

YouTube has so far said the video does not break any of its community guidelines and will therefore not be removed.

Now hacktivist group Anonymous has demanded the video should be taken down. "We've been notified of a sick, disturbing video uploaded by @sampepper. Yet again, he uses violent abuse to garner subscribers," said the group in a tweet.

"This video must be taken down. @SamPepper you have been warned. You have 24 hours or we will unleash f***ing hell on you," it said.

Pepper has come under fire for other videos, including one in which he was seen pinching women's bottoms. It was later taken down after a number of complaints.